That Piece of Sky
by Gindokei
Summary: What if Rosé didn't pick herself up and move on? What if she didn't grow stronger? Ed and Al meet the girl whose life they destroyed and are shocked at the change in her. Slight change in manga plot line, no Rosé bashing intended!


_That Piece of Sky_

**AN: Slightly AU – placed sometime after Ed and Al find out about what the Stone is made of. They're still travelling, though, in search of another solution.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Fullmetal Alchemist**_**.**

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"Edward Elric."

The sound of his name stopped the young man in his tracks. His brother, who had heard the woman as well, paused and turned to look at her, his expressionless face somehow managing to convey utter surprise.

"It _is_ you." The woman was lovely, with dark brown hair and strange pink bangs. Edward remembered the day he first saw her – her beautiful hair had been shining and healthy, not dull and stringy like it was now. All in all, Rosé now looked like a lost child – her arms hung limply at her sides, and her large violet eyes were slightly unfocused.

"I thought I recognized you," she continued, and Edward expected her to step towards him, but she did not move. "It's good to see you again."

Rosé's feet were cracked and bleeding, Alphonse noticed worriedly. She still wore only thin slippers, and she'd obviously been moving around a lot. The soles of the slippers were barely existent, and her bare feet rubbed against the rough ground.

"It's good to see you too, Rosé," Edward responded, feeling a little awkward. "You look great."

She smiled faintly in reply. Alphonse moved towards her, his hands outstretched and his voice gentle.

"Rosé... are you all right?" Alphonse was usually much more subtle than his brother, but the shock of seeing bright, cheerful Rosé in such a bedraggled state had thrown him. Rosé looked up at him, appearing genuinely puzzled.

"Yes... yes, of course. I'm perfectly all right. Just... you know... wandering here and there. Journeying." Her smile was fragile, as if she would shatter into a million pieces with a single touch. Edward swallowed – he'd seen the same look in her eyes the day he'd snatched the rug out from under her feet. The day he'd destroyed everything she'd ever believed in.

"Why didn't you stay in Liore?" he asked roughly. Rosé's smile wavered and disappeared.

"It's... why didn't I...?" She didn't seem able to form a coherent answer. "I don't... it was violent... fighting everywhere... I didn't want to stay. I thought that I could travel, try to..."

"You should have stayed," Edward interrupted her harshly. "It would've been safer there than wandering all over the goddamn country!" His nerves were frayed already, especially after finding out about doctor Marcoh's notes, and the sight of pitiful Rosé made him even more bad-tempered. He thought he'd _saved_ her – saved her from a lifetime of being lied to. He hadn't meant his words about standing up and walking to be taken quite so literally.

"I..." Rosé was just so hesitant and lost – Edward wanted to shake her, to snap some sense into her head. "I just..."

"Brother." Alphonse placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Stop. She's obviously gone through a lot."

At his younger brother's words, all of the aggression seeped out of the young alchemist. He sighed and shook his head.

"Rosé." His voice was quieter and more controlled. "I told you the story about the hero and how his wings melted when he got too close to the sun, right?" Rosé nodded absently, her dark eyes fixed on his face.

"There's more to the story. The hero had a son, and many years later, his son recreated those wax wings. He learned from his father's mistakes as he flew over the ocean, and he didn't go close to the sun – but he went to the other extreme. He flew too close to the surface of the ocean, he flew too low, and the water made his wax wings wet and they fell off, plunging him into the ocean.

"My point is, you can't be too arrogant, but you can't be so passive, either. You need to strike a balance, Rosé – you need to find that middle piece of sky, between the sun and the sea. You can't aim _too_ high, but you can't aim so low, either. Do you understand?"

Rosé listened to him silently and did not respond to his question. Edward sighed again – a mixture of irritation and guilt – and turned away. However, at the sound of Alphonse's soft gasp, he turned back almost instantly.

Tears leaked out of the corners of Rosé's eyes. She crumpled to the ground, and Edward caught her, and she cried in his arms. He held her, and Alphonse held her, and they both wished that the girl would find her happiness, her middle sky.

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**AN: That was really, really random. But I sort of like Rosé, so I thought I'd try to write something about 'what if she wasn't as strong as she is in the manga?' The tale about Icarus had Daedalus warning his son about the sun AND the sea – so I think that's sort of important.**

**Sorry about _Amoroso_ - last chapter and epilogue WILL be up within a week! ^^;;  
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**740 words.**


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